Do you know where this is?

Published Sunday November 18, 2012 at 6:00 am

Updated Monday November 19, 2012 at 5:30 am

This photo represents three generations of transportation in the city’s history. The building that had once housed Sloan’s stables represents the robust history of transportation by horse. Trolley tracks and cobblestones are exposed in the street. A sedan rumbles by in the corner of the frame.

By the time this photograph was taken in 1946, the last trolley trip had already been made, and Mayor Charles F. “Jeff” Sullivan made it a priority in the following years to cover the cumbersome strips with blacktop. A little zooming in on the photograph reveals the stables were being used as an automobile repair shop. The small group of houses is still there, while the three-decker in the background is long gone.

The year 1946 also marked the opening of the Worcester Municipal Airport, which isn’t too far from here. The neighborhood was at one time called “New Worcester,” and is also in the neighborhood where Daniel Coes had grown up on his father’s farm. His sons Loring and Aury Coes started the knife works nearby. Loring invented the monkey wrench. He and his brother had mansions down the street from where this photo was taken.

Not visible behind the stable and residences is a body of water that appears pretty innocuous and isolated, but actually plays a pretty big role as it feeds into the Middle River, which in turn feeds the mighty Blackstone River farther south.

Do you know where this photo was taken? Go to telegram.com to weigh in with your guess and a comment. Return tomorrow to the Telegram & Gazette and telegram.com for the answer.